This is a friendly discussion among brothers and sisters who all love the Book of Mormon and believe it is actual history. We seek unity on how to interpret the text and Church history. This blog focuses on the North American setting as the simplest and best explanation of Book of Mormon geography, with Cumorah in New York, but we recognize other settings are meaningful for other people.

Monday, February 6, 2017

Cumorah: A Decision Tree for Book of Mormon Geography

Lately I've been doing a lot of presentations, and people have asked for a handout. This is a version of the handout in response to multiple requests for a summary of Book of Mormon geography issues. The Church wisely has no official position on the setting. It’s up to each member to decide.[Note: I cross posted this at the consensus blog here.]

The question really boils down to this:

Do you think the Hill Cumorah is in New York or in southern
Mexico?

Advocates for the North American setting
believe the Hill Cumorah (Mormon 6:6) is in New York and the rest of the
geography flows from that.

Advocates for the Central American setting
(Mesoamerica) don’t believe Cumorah is in New York. Instead, they claim there
are “two Cumorahs.” One, the hill where Joseph obtained the plates, is in New
York. This hill was incorrectly named Cumorah by unknown early Saints. Calling
the hill in New York “Cumorah” is a false tradition because the real hill
Cumorah (Mormon 6:6) is somewhere in Southern Mexico.

If you think the Hill Cumorah is in New York, then you accept a North American setting.

If you think the Hill Cumorah is in southern Mexico, then you accept a Mesoamerican setting.

______________

To decide whether you agree with Central America
or North America, you can check the box next to the proposition and then
compare your responses to those of the Central and North American proponents. 1-17
are statements of historical fact; 18-20 are conclusions.

Proposition

Agree

Disagree

1. When
Moroni first visited Joseph Smith, he said the record was “written and
deposited” not far from Joseph’s home.

2. Joseph
Smith obtained the original set of plates from a stone box Moroni constructed
out of stone and cement in the Hill Cumorah in New York.

3.
Mormon said he buried all the Nephite records in the Hill Cumorah (Morm.
6:6), which was the scene of the final battles of the Nephites, except for
the plates he gave to his son Moroni to finish the record.

4.
Orson Pratt explained that Moroni deposited the plates in “a department of
the hill separate from the great, sacred depository of the numerous volumes
hid up by his father.”

5.
Brigham Young said Oliver told him that he (Oliver) and Joseph had made at
least two visits to a room in the Hill Cumorah in New York that contained
piles of records and ancient Nephite artifacts.

6. Heber
C. Kimball talked about Father Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and others seeing
records upon records piled upon tables in the hill Cumorah.

7.
When Joseph and Oliver finished translating the original set of plates in
Harmony, PA, Joseph gave the plates to a divine messenger who took them to
Cumorah.

8.
In Fayette, NY, Joseph and Oliver translated the plates of Nephi.

9. Oliver
Cowdery said it was a fact that the valley west of the Hill Cumorah in New
York was the location of the final battles of the Nephites and Jaredites
(Letter VII).

10.
Joseph Smith had his scribes to copy Oliver’s letters, including Letter VII,
into his journal as part of his history.

11.
Joseph Smith gave permission to Benjamin Winchester to republish Oliver’s
letters, including Letter VII, in his newspaper called theGospel Reflector

12.
Don Carlos republished Oliver’s letters, including Letter VII, in the 1842
Church newspaper called the Times and Seasons(T&S).

13.
Letter VII was republished in the Millennial Star and the Improvement Era.

14.
D&C 128:20 reads, “And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah!
Moroni, an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets—the
book to be revealed,” followed by references to other events that took place
in New York.

15.
To date, apart from Moroni’s stone box and the plates and other objects
Joseph Smith possessed and showed to the Witnesses, no artifact or archaeological
site that can be directly linked to the Book of Mormon has been found
anywhere.

16.
Every LDS who was alive during Joseph Smith’s lifetime, and several prophets
and apostles since, accepted the New York hill Cumorah as the scene of the
final battles in General Conference.

17.
As an Apostle and Church Historian, Joseph Fielding Smith said the
two-Cumorah theory caused members to become confused and disturbed in their
faith in the Book of Mormon. He reiterated this when he was President of the
Quorum of the Twelve in the 1950s in his bookDoctrines of Salvation.

18.
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were merely speculating about the location of
Cumorah. They were wrong and they misled the Church.

19.
Joseph Fielding Smith was wrong when he criticized the two-Cumorahs theory
and maintained that Cumorah is in New York.

20.
Anthony Ivins, Marion G. Romney, and Mark E. Peterson were all wrong when
they spoke in General Conference about Cumorah being in New York.

If you agree with 1-20, then
you reject the New York Cumorah and probably accept a Mesoamerican setting (or
another non-New York Cumorah setting).

If you agree with 1-17 but
disagree with 18-20, then you accept the New York Cumorah and reject the
settings outside North America.

[I posted a more detailed comparison table in
August, 2016, here.
This one includes areas in which the two sides agree to disagree. So far as I
know, it remains the most detailed and complete statement of the respective
positions of those who advocate a Central American (Mesoamerican) setting and a
North American (Heartland/Moroni’s America) setting.]

About Me

I like the way Daft Punk wear robot suits in public. I'd rather focus on the music than the personalities. Same with Internet discussions; I'd rather focus on the information and the logic of the arguments than the personalities. That said, people want to know I'm a real person, so here's a photo of me at the UN in New York.

Disclaimer

The author writes this blog in a private capacity which is unrepresentative of anyone or any organization except for his own personal views. Nothing written by the author should ever be conflated with the editorial views or official positions of any other person or institution.